~*Sushant's Bollywood Journey *~#17 - Page 30

Sushant Singh Rajput' leading lady in Detective Byomkesh is being kept under wraps. That's the way Yashraj Films likes to keep their projects. However, one learns from a source working on the film that he is paired with Swastika Mukherjee in this period film.

Swastika is best known to create quite a hungama in the Kolkata media -- both through her bold role (in a Bangla film titled Take One about an MMS scandal) and her bindaas statements. The never-say-no actress had many steamy scenes with her co-star.

Apparently, director Dibakar Banerjee and Yashraj Films want to keep Swastika's no-holds-barred image in check. Says the source, "Out there in Bengal, Swastika has a very bold image. In Dibakar's film, Swastika plays a traditional Bengali housewife." The effort, we hear, is to repackage Swastika's image for her Hindi debut as "more of Sharmila and less of Bipasha." Sushant is living in with his girlfriend Ankita Lokhande, with whom he is rumoured to be married, and with his film he gets an on-screen wife as well.

Didn't Swastika herself say that she isn't paired opposite Sushant and that she's just playing another important female character? 😕

To prepare for their roles, Bollywood actors are cutting themselves off from the outside world; we wonder if they are following the Hollywood method acting' school

It's important for an artiste. If you really want to create something, you have to do it.
"Anil Kapoor, actor

From page 1 - B Hollywood actors are known to go to bizarre lengths to get in character. For instance, Daniel Day-Lewis apparently went incommunicado to prepare for his role in Lincoln (2012). Now, Bollywood actors seem to be taking a leaf out of the method acting book.

Anil Kapoor has decided to go off the radar for two-three months. That means no phone calls, media interactions or public appearances. The actor wants to focus on his new film (Zoya Akhtar's next) and the second season of his TV show, 24. Kapoor told us, "It's important for an artiste. If you really want to create something, you have to do it. Otherwise, you will be constantly distracted."

Similarly, Varun Dhawan has decided to "vanish" to concentrate on Sriram Raghavan's yet-untitled film: "Abhi main gayab hone waala hoon (I'm going to vanish). I haven't done anything like this till date," he told us last week. He also tweeted that "...I will be off twitter (sic)".

Some actors don't even interact with family during their prep. That's what Sushant Singh Rajput did for over three months to focus on Dibakar Banerjee's Detective Byomkesh Bakshy. While shooting, he was mostly unreachable even to his family and girlfriend Ankita Lokhande. The young actor says he is likely to go through the same process again for Shekhar Kapur's Paani. "I try to isolate myself as much as I can... This is the only way I can focus, work hard and convince myself that I have the authority to be the character," he told us recently.

Of course, when it comes to prep, one of the earliest stars to have done it is Aamir Khan. In 2012, he remained disconnected to focus on his TV show, and again for Dhoom:3. Farhan Akhtar, too, did it for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013), as did Nawazuddin Siddiqui for Gangs of Wasseypur 2 (2012). "It's my habit... Everyone has different ways of working on their craft," he says.